Layoffs, program cuts coming for Lubbock Health Dept.

LUBBOCK, TX (KCBD) -

City of Lubbock Mayor Tom Martin says layoffs and program cuts are expected for the Lubbock Health Department. The city council is bracing for severe budget cuts that will include discontinuing immunization and STD clinics.

"The state funds these programs and the city has been contracted to take them over for some time," Martin said. "But with the grants being cut, we won't be able to afford to pay for those services."

Mayor Martin says he doesn't know how soon the closures will happen.

"There will be layoffs, but there is no telling when. It depends on when the grants officially stop coming from the state," he said. "The good news is there are other providers in the city that still have funding."

There are still other options as far as the Larry Combest Clinic which can also handle the overflow as well as several other clinics in the area.

"We are not in a position in the City of Lubbock to pick up these expenses they were cut by the state they made that decision and its not the taxpayers responsibility to raise our tax rate to offset those services," Mayor Martin explained.

The City Council expects to know how many grants will be cut going into September when the city budget becomes official.